Drysuit Silicone Wrist & Neck Seals

[The Publisher]

At the DEMA show I ran into a Swiss manufacturer who made drysuit wrist and neck seals out of silicone rubber.

The issue with latex is it is subject to ozone degradation. I spoke with them at length and they said their issue was creating one that could be bonded to suits as it is quite difficult to get anything to adhere to silicone rubber.

I took photos and once I find them, I will post them.

[mbelair]

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[acelockco]

They are supposed to be available from TUSA and SI Tech here in the USA. I know there is some compatibility issues with latex and silicone, so I am not sure if they will work for retrofit or new installation only or the difficulty of installing these. They look to be a HUGE improvement over latex seals which rip and tear very easily and degrade over a rather short time. I have latex wrist seals on my dry suit and they are starting to degrade. I am sure they are not going to make it too much longer, so I may try the silicone if replacements are available for my rig. I use a neoprene neck seal, and have no complaints about it and don't think I would want to change over to silicone on that one. The neoprene is way more comfortable for me then the latex and is very durable. Another benefit is that the neoprene is MUCH warmer then latex. I have also never had issues with any of my seals leaking....other parts of the dry suit, not so much.

[The Publisher]

Yes those are the people I took photos of their products.

The issue isn't so much about latex sealing, it is that latex degrades from ozone and age, silicone holds up remarkably better.

I have had my latex neck deal rip completely apart on a multi-day dive trip.

[acelockco]

I figured those were the folks.

You are definitely not the only one that has had a dive trip ruined by a torn seal. They seem to rip during the worst possible moment, but you can usually rig up some duct tape to get through one dive. It is usually pretty easy with the wrist seals, but the neck seals are another story.

[Rcontrera]

The biggest problem with latex is not the seals themselves. It is that most manufacturers us cheap glue that is softened by silicone oil, grease or spray. Silicone is an excellent preservative and protection for rubber. By recommending using talc, there is no preservation of the rubber so it can tear or degrade easily.

Silicone rubber is interesting stuff, but highly susceptible to tearing at weak points. Those weak points are formed by bubbles or contaminants in the solution. At DEMA, three wrist seals and one neck tore like paper before we could get them installed on our mannequin.

They are a great idea ... but I will have to wait to see since I use silicone oil on my latex seals and they regularly last me 5 years or more.